The Optus Stadium is the brand new 60,000 seat sports stadium in Perth.

Two of the LSAA member companies - Arup and MakMax - have been involved in the design and construction of the roof structure.

The Arup design team attended the cracking one day cricket game between Australia and England for the first major event at Optus Stadium. The feature of the stadium is the lightweight cantilevering roof that has a clean fabric membrane soffit and those huge speakers pack a punch. Unfortunately we lost the day only by a few runs but the atmosphere was great.

A new (future) draft version of the NCC (National Construction Code) is now available for public comment. Comments are due by COB April 13 2018.

To view this document (in PDF format) you may need to login or register at the ABCB (Australian Building Codes Board) website https://www.abcb.gov.au/

Of interest to many involved in lightweight structures, and in particular tension membrane structures, are the new requirements related to fire. These new requirements have been the result of a number of fatal fires in Australia and overseas. See this article for an interim report related to fires and cladding.